Worth Square

This small square marks the grave of General William Jenkins Worth (1794-1849). Born to Quaker parents in Hudson, New York, Worth worked briefly at a store in Hudson before moving to Albany to pursue a mercantile career. With the outbreak of the War of 1812 (1812-1815), he broke with his family’s pacifist beliefs and enlisted in the Army. He distinguished himself as an aide-de-camp to Generals Morgan Lewis and Winfield “Old Fuss and Feathers” Scott. Worth was promoted for battlefield valor at Chippewa (July 5, 1814) and Lundy’s Lane (July 25) near Niagara Falls. Although he was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he served as its fourth Commandant of Cadets from 1820 to 1828. Returning to battlefield service in 1841, Worth fought in the last stages of the Second Seminole War and was promoted to the rank of general in 1842. Though a victorious commander in Florida, Worth urged that the Seminoles be allowed to live in peac…